Couple from Bhopal provided protection

The Bombay High Court plays cupid to the inter-community couple from Bhopal, reports Urvi Jappi.

The Bombay High Court played cupid to the inter-community couple from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh who had to flee the place after their love affair led to communal disturbance in their city.

Fearing threat to their life from their parents and the extremists, the Mumbai police has been directed to provide protection to Priyanka Wadhwani and Mohamed Umer, who converted to Hinduism and adopted the name Umesh.

Considering the sensitive nature of the case, Justice Ranjana Desai and justice DB Bhosale spoke to the couple in their chamber instead of hearing it in the open court where the couple told the court that they were married and wanted to live outside Bhopal. After being prima facie satisfied that Priyanka and Umesh were married the HC has restrained the Superintendent of Police (SP), Bhopal from arresting Umesh following an FIR lodged there until further orders.

The HC has also issued notice to the SP, Bhopal, to quash the FIR lodged against Umesh by Priyanka's father for allegedly kidnapping his daughter. The matter is kept for hearing on June 18.

Priyanka and Umesh fled from Bhopal on April 2 and took refuge in Mumbai where they got married on April 5. To become a Hindu, Umer underwent a shiddhikaran (purification) ceremony after which he was rechristened as Umesh.

They approached the HC after learning that a police team from Bhopal has come to Mumbai looking for them. Umesh's brother was also arrested by the police in Bhopal for allegedly helping in the kidnapping of Priyanka.

Priayanka's parents did not approve of their love affair as Umesh belonged to a different religion. The petition filed by them in the High Court mentions that fundamentalist orgainsations in Bhopal have made an issue out of it and that there were demonstrations outside Umesh's house.